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Professor Shaun Martin Provides Expert Legal Commentary on Prop. 8 Debate

SAN DIEGO, January 9, 2011—Shaun Martin, University of San Diego School of Law professor and former law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, was tapped this weekend to help San Diego Union-Tribune readers understand the ongoing legal arguments surrounding California's controversial Proposition 8. This voter-approved measure limiting marriage to heterosexual couples was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge late last year.

Reporter Greg Moran writes:

The legal battle over same-sex marriage in California pivoted back last week to the state Supreme Court to answer a legal question that will affect not only gays and lesbians who want to marry. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order Tuesday asking the state high court to decide if state law allows proponents of a proposition to defend it in court when state officials refuse that role.

Click here to read the San Diego Union-Tribune story in its entirety.

As a student at Harvard Law School, Professor Martin served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review and a general editor of Harvard University's Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. After graduation, he clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and practiced law with Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart & Oliver in Los Angeles before coming to USD School of Law in 1995. He teaches civil procedure and professional ethics, and writes in the areas of civil procedure, criminal law and professional responsibility. Professor Martin received the Thorsnes Prize for Excellence in Teaching in both 2006 and 1999 and was the Herzog Endowed Scholar in 2007.